Elizabeth rather liked the idea of him sketching her, of his gaze sweeping over her body as he did so. She reclined against the cushions and reached for some grapes. “You must draw me like a renaissance goddess, utterly decadent amidst a scene of great chaos.”
Once she was positioned most becomingly, he nodded and began his work. Elizabeth remained silent as he wore a look of great contemplation, making sweeping strokes and smaller ones as he began. She lapsed into a pensive and peaceful reverie, and her mind turned to thoughts of her family. She would beobliged to have two serious conversations with her parents when she returned home; first she must tell them that she knew of her true origins, and then she would surely shock them senseless when she told them she was betrothed to Mr. Darcy. She laughed as she imagined it.
“What amuses you, oh goddess?”
Mr. Darcy calling her a goddess was a circumstance that might have driven her into a frenzy of laughter a year ago, but presently she only smiled. “I wonder what shall astonish my parents more – that I know the truth of my birth, and have two new sisters in the bargain, or that I have promised to marry the man that I spent many months besmirching about the village.”
“Certainly the latter,” he said with a frown. “I am sure I shall have to crawl to your father on my knees to atone for how I behaved last autumn. My sister is an angel, and may soften my taciturnity a little; perhaps if Richard is not occupied with his duties to the crown, he might join me and tease everyone into good humor about our match.”
“I cannot call him handsome, but if he is wearing regimentals, I daresay all the other ladies at Longbourn shall. But do you mean to come to Meryton soon, sir? I am of age, and you already have Sir Edward’s blessing.”
“I will travel with you, of course. I apologize if I was unclear, my dear one, but I mean never to be parted from you again. Not for a single day shall we be apart, until we are wed, and certainly not for quite a long time thereafter.”
Elizabeth beamed at him, sharing his wishes wholeheartedly. “Would you really consent to bringing Georgiana to Meryton? If she is in London, we will surely break our journey there before continuing north to Longbourn.”
“We are of one mind already. She is staying with my aunt, the Countess of Matlock, to whom I would like to introduce you and your… Sir Edward. And if Richard is available, I know Bingley would love to host him. He has long been of a mind to make a match with his sister and Richard, though the pair of them hiss and claw at one another like feral cats.”
Elizabeth sputtered with laughter. “I am growing fonder of your cousin by the minute!”
“I hope you shall meet; I can even bear his teasing, which is sure to be merciless, for he has never seen me in love before.”
Heat ran through her. “You have never been in love before?”
He looked at her as if she were daft. “If I had, I should be married already. What, have you…?”
Elizabeth shook her head with a self-deprecating laugh. “It is not my proudest achievement, but I suppose you know so much about me already, much of it quite mortifying. I will tell you. When I was fourteen, I had a mad passion for Charlotte’s older brother, Craig.”
Mr. Darcy wrinkled his nose with distaste. “Craig?”
“Lady Lucas’s surname. But it is much worse than that. He was fearfully handsome – not as well featured as you, but good looking in the way of those who appear better for their cheerful disposition. I would see him in the village, and he was always being kind to the merchants and townsfolk, giving coins to children and the like. Jane and I thought he was the finest man in the county, and likely the entire kingdom. It broke my heart when he wrote Jane a sonnet, for he scarcely looked at me.”
“So that is why you despise them.” He smirked and motioned for her to continue as he carried on with his sketching.
“I used to climb up a large beech tree along the boundary fence between Longbourn and Lucas Lodge, and watch him ride his horse in the meadow. That is how I became dearest friends with Charlotte, in fact. The spring I turned fifteen, I went to watch him ride with some of his friends, and I fell out of the tree.”
“Were you hurt?”
“Only my pride. I was not very far up when I discovered Charlotte was already aloft on a higher branch, and I was terribly startled. She came to my aid, and told me she was admiring one of the other gentlemen, whose sister was Craig’s betrothed. I wept like a little fool, for myself and for poor Jane, and indeed I wept so loudly that the gentlemen discovered us. Craig Lucas thought me more of a child than ever, I am sure, but I suppose I have had the last laugh. In the six years since he and his bride moved to London, he has returned home fatter and with less hair at every Christmas visit! I daresay in another two months, I shall be mistaking him for Mr. Hurst.”
“Oh dear,” Mr. Darcy drawled, looking rather smug. “Perhaps marriage did not agree with him. But if that is what keeps a man in fine looks, I shall captivate you daily.”
“Quite a compliment from a man I once accused of undue pride!
He met her eye and grinned unabashedly. “I am satisfied if I can manage to express myself sensibly at all in your presence.”
“Do not trouble yourself,” she said with a whimsical wave of her hand. “I am fond of nonsense, as you know.”
“Put your hand back, if you please. Tell me, what will you say to Mr. and Mrs. Bennet?”
This was what Elizabeth needed most to ponder, and she held still for the sake of his sketching as she considered her answer. “I hardly know. I do not feel so angry, anymore. I am far too happy to feel anything else. Papa will be sad to part with me, and I do not wish to part on bad terms. As to Mamma… well, I know I have not been her favorite child, but I believe it has more to do with my willfulness, rather than my origins. I am amazed she managed to keep it a secret at all, but it must have been important to her that I think of her as my mother, which is rather sweet, I suppose.”
“I am glad your temper has cooled, and you can think of your relations with all the affection I know you bear them.”
“I do love them all. I cannot imagine thinking any differently of my sisters, nor my parents, but I find I should like to see more of Sir Edward, and Cathy and Harriet. And the four Gardiner children, they are nearer kin than I ever knew.”
“You must let me know how I can best oblige you, Elizabeth. If you wish to be often in London with your unc- … Sir Edward, I have a house in Grosvenor Square, and you may appoint it entirely anew if you wish. We can also travel to visit Miss Morland and Miss Smith, and invite them to Pemberley or Darcy House as often as you like. Bingley would be delighted to receive us at Netherfield often, and perhaps we may persuade the Bingleys to purchase an estate in Derbyshire.”
“What a world of possibilities,” Elizabeth said with a sigh of contentment. “I have scarcely had time to think of what it shall be like to be your wife, but you paint a very pretty picture. Do go on.”
